Truth and Rumers
by Arina Ketchum
Summary: Sequel to Rumer Has It. Arina arrives in a mysterious city and then Celadon City well ahead of schedule.
1. Chapter 1

Truth and Rumers  
  
By Arina  
  
babylofty@excite.com  
  
Date completed: May 6, 2001  
  
Dear Readers,  
  
As the author, I feel it would be unjust of me to thrust upon you my shortest and worst Pokemon fanfic to date. I therefore I have scrapped the latest installment of Arina's Pokemon Fanfic Journey - Chapter 3 of Book IV - Rumer Has It. It's an absolutely unnecessary part of the plot and a total waste of what little time and effort was spent on it. In short, it details Arina's (uneventful) journey to Cerulean City, and winning the Cascade Badge from her three aunts. Whee, how exciting. :)  
  
Anyway, I'm moving on to the next story, simply for the reason mentioned above. Enjoy.  
  
~ Arina, Pokemon Trainer  
  
* * * *  
  
  
  
Dear Mom and Dad,  
  
Having lots of fun on the road as a Pokemon trainer. All my Pokemon are pretty good and I'm fine. I won the Cascade Badge from Aunties Lily, Daisy, and Violet, which was a tough battle! You were right, the leaders do get tougher as you go!  
  
Hope all is well at home. Will email or call when I get to Vermillion City.  
  
Much Love,  
  
Arina  
  
I sighed as I flipped over the postcard I'd been writing on. On the front was a picture of my Mom's hometown, Cerulean City. It had almost been a month since I'd left home on my Pokemon journey. Everything (for the most part) had been going pretty smoothly, if you didn't count me running away from home and scaring my parents halfway to their graves.  
  
But half of what I had just told my parents was a lie. I was not fine and neither were all my Pokemon. My Squirtle had been kidnapped (Poke-napped?) by a lunatic before I reached Cerulean City and as a result, my training had suffered due to my depression over failing to protect my Pokemon one hundred percent.  
  
"I'm going to bed guys. 'Night." I said softly. My Pokemon called out return greetings as I slipped the postcard into my backpack and crawled into my sleeping bag.  
  
No matter how hard I tried not to, my thoughts kept returning to Squirtle. Although there was nothing I could do about it now, I still felt terrible, even though it was never my fault Squirtle left. It was all Rumers'. My aunts, Lily, Daisy, and Violet, consoled me and revealed I hadn't been the first to be robbed by her. She'd taken dozens of other Pokemon and set them free in her zealous quest to prove that pokemon training was wrong. My aunts, in an attempt to cheer me up, even offered me a water Pokemon from the Gym, but I politely refused. Another pokemon couldn't make me feel better. I wanted Squirtle, not because it was one I had captured, but one I had won over after Rumer had set it free. I swore that if I ever met up with Rumer again, I'd make her pay. Vengeance didn't make me feel better, and on top of that, I felt like I was the worst trainer in the world for letting Rumer get away with the crime. Why hadn't I been more alert? Stayed up that night to protect my Pokemon? I started to cry for myself, and the pokemon I had lost, until I heard a soft "Ratta?"  
  
I rolled over. Rattata was sitting next to my sleeping bag, with a placid expression. "Oh, Rattata, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."  
  
"Rattata-Rat-atat-Ratta Ratta-Rat-tatta-tatta-Rattata. Rattata-ratta- rattata-rat." (We know you miss Squirtle very much. But at least you still have us.)  
  
I smiled through my tears, and motioned Rattata to lie down by me, and I stroked its fur until we both fell asleep.  
  
* * * *  
  
The next morning, the fog was thicker than pea soup and it was difficult to see even five feet in front of me. I recalled all my Pokemon to their Pokeballs, except Rattata. Rattata's sense of smell would be useful in sniffing out other pokemon. It walked beside me until the fog got so thick that I had to lift it up on my shoulders so we wouldn't get separated. As I didn't have a compass, I wasn't positive I was going in the right direction, but I felt confident that if I wasn't, at least I wasn't heading back to Cerulean.  
  
And then it seemed to appear out of nowhere - a town. The fog began to clear as I entered, and I took a good look around as I walked. "I don't remember a town between Cerulean and Vermillion." I murmured.  
  
Women and girls in long skirts or dresses, most wearing bonnets, men in pants, boots, and shirts with vests, all wearing cowboy hats...and buildings made out of wood? What was going on? When the people saw me they moved out of the area as quickly as possible.  
  
"We must have stumbled onto a movie set!" I realized aloud. Silly me! They must be shooting a western - perhaps a Spielbunk one?  
  
"Let's go find the director, Rattata. Maybe we can lunch with some stars!"  
  
"Ratta!" Rattata agreed.  
  
After walking up and down the "town" for an hour though, my hopes started to sink and the growls in my stomach rise.  
  
"Well, maybe they have a coffee shop on the set, where we can eat and I can email Mom and Dad." I shrugged.  
  
"Ratta-Rat-Rattata!" Rattata raised a paw and pointed to a hanging sign above a door up ahead of us.  
  
"'The Moon Kingdom Cafe'? Hey, good work Rattata! I didn't know you could read!"  
  
"Ratta-Ratta-Ratta-Rat." (I have a lot of hidden talents.) "Ratta-Ratta- Ratta-Rattata." (Plus I saw the picture of the teacup on the sign.)  
  
I was thankful later that Rattata had seen the cafe, because it turned out to be a very nice place, even if the customers weren't. A waitress named Mina didn't bat an eyelash at me or my apparently unusual clothes, and was only too happy to serve me. The rest of the lunch crowd, however, felt differently. They whispered about my clothes, my Pokemon, and even how blue my hair was!  
  
"You'd think we'd dropped into the Twilight Zone." I muttered. I ignored their stares and comments, and asked Rattata what it wanted for lunch.  
  
"Ratta-Ratta-Rattata-Rattata!"  
  
"You want to bulk up for the next battle, so you'd like everything in both columns A & B?!"  
  
"That's a lot for a small fry like yourself." A voice said behind us.  
  
Rattata and I turned around. A young man was standing there, outfitted in gray pants, a black shirt and green vest.  
  
"Hi, welcome to Pinkton City. I'm Darien, the manager of this cafÃ©. I couldn't help but overhear your Rattata get excited. I am assuming you're a Pokemon trainer?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
"My daughter happens to be the local gym leader here. Would you like to meet her?"  
  
Quite sure now that this wasn't a movie set, but an actual town (caught in some funky time-warp?), I found my voice and answered, "I'd love to."  
  
"Great." Darien beamed. "I'll send her down after you eat."  
  
* * * *  
  
An hour later, as promised, a girl came by our table. I was in the middle of scolding Rattata for eating so much (it only managed a quarter of Column A), when she interrupted.  
  
"Hi, I'm Rini. My dad said you wanted to meet me."  
  
I looked up from Rattata to see a girl about my age with pink hair, wearing a long blue skirt and white top, standing in front of my table.  
  
"Oh, hi, I'm Arina. I grabbed a napkin and wiped my hands before shaking Rini's. "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Same here. So you're my next battle, huh?" Rini said as she grabbed a seat and sat down.  
  
"I'm not, but Rattata is, if the little piglet learns that his eyes are bigger than his stomach!"  
  
Rini giggled as Rattata groaned, begging for some sort of relief.  
  
"It's your own fault for being so greedy." I scolded.  
  
"Rattata," was all Rattata could say.  
  
I sighed. "Hey Rini, do you know where the Pokemon Center is? That's where we'll be staying."  
  
"Sure, it's a few minutes away. Two blocks up and three blocks over. You could stay here though."  
  
"In the cafÃ©?"  
  
"No, silly." Rini laughed. "The Moon Kingdom hotel. Above the cafÃ©!"  
  
* * * *  
  
"So how many Pokemon do you generally use in battle?" I asked as we walked up the stairs, cradling Rattata in my arms.  
  
"Usually two, unless the trainer I'm battling only has one, or they want to battle more than two."  
  
"That's nice of you."  
  
Rini shrugged. "I figure I'm not going to get anywhere in life by being mean."  
  
"How many Pokemon do you have?"  
  
"Five, at the moment, I got them all before I became a Gym leader. I'm hoping I can give up this Gym position soon so I can travel again." Rini answered as we arrived at the top of the stairs. "Hi Mom!" she said to the tall woman with long blonde hair standing at the check-in desk.  
  
"Hello Rini," the woman smiled. "What are you up to?"  
  
"This is Arina, I'm battling her Pokemon in a couple of hours."  
  
"It's very nice to meet you Arina, I'm Serena."  
  
"A pleasure." I murmured. Something about both Rini and Serena seemed mystical, almost magical. However, before I could ponder anymore about it, Rini announced, "Come on Arina, I'll show you my room and you can put Rattata down for a nap."  
  
"Nap?" I looked down at the little Pokemon and saw it had fallen asleep in my arms. "Some Pokemon." I muttered. Rini and Serena laughed.  
  
As we arrived at her room at the end of the hall, Rini announced, "Here we are." I placed Rattata on Rini's bed before looking around. The room was filled with books, games, and stuffed animals.  
  
"Nice room."  
  
"Thanks. You can leave your backpack here; it'll be safe. I'll show you around town while Rattata's sleeping and then we'll battle."  
  
* * * *  
  
Two hours later, after a long walk around town and finding we had a lot in common as we talked, Rini and I returned to the restaurant.  
  
"I've heard the Pokemon Center dinners are awful." I commented as we walked down the hallway  
  
"I have news for you: they are. The Joys are good nurses, but they and their Chanseys can't cook to save themselves." Rini laughed she opened the door to her room, then stopped short when we walked in.  
  
The room had been completely trashed. Stuffed toys were thrown about, furniture had been overturned, and pieces of games had been scattered.  
  
And Rattata was GONE!  
  
"Rattata!" I cried and ran to the bed. "Rattata!" I looked under the bed. No Rattata!  
  
"I don't remember leaving the window open." Rini commented, still somewhat in shock.  
  
"Never mind that! Help me find Rattata!"  
  
Rini sat down on the bed next to a piece of paper.  
  
"Do you see it anywhere?" I asked frantically.  
  
"Rattata's not here." Rini turned and handed me the missive.  
  
I brushed back my bangs before reading aloud. "Come to the town square at sundown for a Poke-battle. If you win, you get your Rattata back, if you lose, we keep it. Fail to show and your rat becomes a ... " I gulped, "ghost Pokemon." My eyes wide, I asked, "What are we going to do?"  
  
"We'll get Rattata back from them, don't worry." Rini assured me.  
  
"Who's they?"  
  
Rini sighed. "There are two trainers in town that challenged me to a match a week ago. I beat them fair and square, but they said I cheated by using Butterfree. They swore they'd get even with me and I guess. . .now they have."  
  
I was near panic, thinking Rumer had associates tracking me and my Pokemon, but I forced myself to keep calm. "Ok, what do we do first?"  
  
"First we map out a strategy. I can battle them while you find out where they're keeping Rattata and get it to safety."  
  
"Sounds good." I nodded, although I was still upset. I hadn't even noticed my backpack was untouched in the upheaval.  
  
"C'mon, it's almost sunset now." Rini said and the two of us ran out, off to save my stolen Rattata.  
  
* * * *  
  
The town square was eerily quiet when we arrived. The shops were closed for the night, and nobody seemed to be out except us.  
  
"Are you Rini?" a boy came out of an alley between two of the shops and, at Rini's nod, handed her a note, then quickly ran off.  
  
"Wait!" I cried to the boy, but Rini touched my arm.  
  
"Leave him. The note's more important." Rini gave me the piece of paper.  
  
"We're glad you decided to come." I read. "Don't worry, your rat is safe - for now. Our battle will begin in a few minutes, however, a few rules:  
  
1) Sudden death match  
  
2) No Butterfree  
  
3) No forfeiting."  
  
The note was not signed.  
  
Rini pursed her lips in anger. "They're not going to get away with this. As soon as we get Rattata back, we're heading over to the Pokemon Center and having them disqualified as Pokemon Trainers. Looking at me, she said. "We'll get Rattata back, or my name isn't Sailor -"  
  
"Gym Leader Rini!" a female voice cried out. "We challenge you to a match!"  
  
"And I accept your challenge, gladly!" Rini threw up her fist in front of her to show she meant it.  
  
"Good then." The voices chorused and a man jumped from one of the building's rooftops. He wore a male Rocket outfit, but without the "R" on front.  
  
Rini didn't seem the least bit phased. "Hey, Jesse, where's your sister? I want this to be a fair fight!"  
  
"Oh this will be." Jesse said a little too smoothly, as he casually pushed his blonde hair away from his face. "It's going to be a one-on-one match. You and me, while Jamie holds our little bargaining chip."  
  
My anger boiled over then, and I whipped out Bulbasaur's Pokeball. "I want the pleasure of taking you down then!"  
  
"No Arina!" Rini said harshly and grabbed my other arm. "This is MY fight," she leaned in closer, "just stick to the plan, I can handle Jesse."  
  
"But -" Jesse was being too calm about this. This guy had something up his sleeve, but if Rini said leave it...Slowly, I let my hand drop to my side.  
  
Jesse smirked. "Now, if there are no more interruptions...?"  
  
"Let's begin." Rini finished.  
  
"Charizard, GO!"  
  
"Please, Onix, help me win this battle! Go!"  
  
"Flamethrower, Charizard!"  
  
"Duck the flames, then Bide!"  
  
As the battle started, I slipped away off into the woods, near the edge of town, where Jesse had first appeared on the rooftop.  
  
"Rattata! Rattata!" I called into the darkening woods. Rattata, if he was here, was not answering, or . . . was forced to be silent.  
  
Choking back the lump rising in my throat, I cried out to Rattata again. "Don't worry, I'm coming to save you, Rattata!" I began to run helter- skelter through the woods - until I tripped.  
  
"Prepare for trouble!" a female voice said behind me.  
  
I held my throbbing ankle as I rolled over to face the woman, who was dressed in a black female Rocket's uniform, except, like Jesse's there was no 'R' on the front. "Jamie." I presumed aloud.  
  
"Correct. And this -" Jamie flipped her blue hair over one shoulder and held up Rattata by the tail, bound and gagged, "is my newest Pokemon."  
  
"You give Rattata back, do you hear me?"  
  
"What are you going to do? You can't battle in the condition you're in."  
  
"Don't be so sure -" I jumped up, then fell back down in pain. My ankle must be in worse shape than I thought.  
  
Jamie laughed. "Team Rocket wins this one, little girl." Cackling, she walked away.  
  
I hardly knew what happened next. One minute, Jamie was standing, the next she was lying face down on the ground. Rattata, still tied up, flew out of her hands and into the darkness.  
  
"Squirtle Squirt!"  
  
"What on Earth?" I looked past Jamie to see a Squirtle, looking tough.  
  
Wait a second, that wasn't just any Squirtle! It was MY Squirtle!  
  
"Squirtle! Watergun now!" I called.  
  
"Squirtle!" Squirtle cried with delight and started its special attack on Jamie. Jamie sputtered and coughed angrily, but was mobilized long enough for me to crawl over to Rattata and untie it.  
  
"Alright, now that she's wet, let's hang her out to dry! Bulbasaur, I choose you! Vine Whip!"  
  
Bulbasaur popped out of its Pokeball and wove its vines around Jamie's waist, then lifted her up to a high branch in a tree.  
  
"The next time you steal a Pokemon, you'd better pray it's not mine." I yelled up to her as I stood, leaning against a tree for support. I turned to Squirtle. "And as for you - welcome back!" I held my arms open.  
  
"Squirtle!"  
  
* * * *  
  
Rini met me at the edge of the forest as I hobbled back in to town.  
  
"Where's Jesse?"  
  
"Gone. I beat his Charizard without a problem."  
  
"Great! Now we can have our match."  
  
Rini smiled. "What's the rush? It's nighttime now and I'm sure the prospect of sleeping outside doesn't appeal to you, compared to a nice warm bed. Why not spend the night at the hotel as my guest and we can battle tomorrow morning?"  
  
That was an argument I couldn't beat. I started to walk (ok, hobble) after Rini, when she noticed what I was doing.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Oh, I just tripped. I'll be fine."  
  
Displeased with that answer, Rini knelt down.  
  
"Rini, honestly, I'm fine." I affirmed, but Rini didn't listen. Instead she reached a hand toward my hurt ankle and closed her eyes.  
  
"Rini," I whispered. As I watched, her hand hovered over my ankle and I felt warmth spread through the injury. A minute later, she opened her eyes and smiled.  
  
"Try walking now." She said softly.  
  
Wincing, as I expected pain, I stepped forward, hurt leg first, and opened my eyes in surprise when my foot landed on the ground and I didn't feel anything but my sneaker cushioning my foot from the pressure.  
  
"How?" I looked back at Rini, who was dusting her knees off. "How did you do that?"  
  
Rini only smiled. "A magician never reveals her secrets," was all she would say.  
  
I left it at that. I couldn't argue with someone who had just "healed" my injury, and was offering me shelter for the night; and after the ordeal we'd just been through, our Pokemon deserved a rest too.  
  
That night, at its request, I gave Squirtle a name - Kaeri. Kaeri told me that once Rumer had left it at its pond, it had trailed her right back to Mt. Moon the same day, and had seen me running from Mt. Moon. It had tried to keep up, but lost me in Cerulean City and had been looking for me ever since.  
  
"Oh you poor thing! It's a wonder you were able to find me at all!" I hugged Kaeri, any resentment we had for one another was long gone now.  
  
"Squirtle-Squirtle-Squirtle." (And I won't leave you again.)  
  
"Thank you, Kaeri. You don't know how much that means to me."  
  
That night was the first night since Pewter that I slept well.  
  
In the morning, Rini and I battled, and I won, but only by a narrow margin. Rattata was my last Pokemon standing and he and Clefairy gave each other a good beating and the end only came when Rattata bit Clefairy's hand and refused to let go until Clefairy passed out.  
  
"Good job, Arina!" Rini called. She seemed more excited than I was that I'd won. I recalled Rattata and Rini returned Clefairy to its Pokeball, then she walked over to me. "Here you go, as a symbol of your skill as a Pokemon trainer, I'm happy to present you with the Peace Badge."  
  
"Thank you, Rini."  
  
"Come on, I'll walk out with you."  
  
I waved a final goodbye to Rini as I left town. Again, like yesterday, it was misty, but not as dense.  
  
The fog began to thin an hour and a half later as the sun came out of the clouds. The sun hit me right in the eyes as I reached a sign post and at first I thought I misread it. But reading it again, I said aloud, "This is impossible!"  
  
The sign proudly stated, 'Welcome to Celadon City.'  
  
"How?" I muttered. How could I possibly be here already? I took out my map. Pinkton City wasn't on there and there was no way I could have reached Celadon without hitting Lavender Town beforehand at least!  
  
Still very puzzled, I put away my map. Maybe here I could get my questions answered (and win another badge!)  
  
End.  
  
Author's note: Kaeri is Japanese for "return". I kind of figured it was appropriate, no? ^_^  
  
In writing this, I had a lot of debates with myself over whether I would call the guest stars by their Japanese names or their English names. At the time this was written, only the original and Sailor Moon R series had been shown in the states, and I had no idea what they were going to call Sailor Chibimoon in the US (I want to keep with continuancy, as to not confuse the audience), so that's why I decided to stick with the U.S. names and that's why Rini never called out the rest of her Sailor name. :) 


	2. Chapter 2

Truth and Rumors, Chapter 2  
  
By Arina Ketchum  
  
"I just don't get it." I muttered as I spread the map out on the ground. This is Celadon City, but we're supposed to be at Rock Tunnel! How did we miss it? I sighed, frustrated, and very confused. Pinkton City, the town I had just left, was also not on my map. Might as well get a bite to eat and hit the local Gym to see if I could get a badge as long as I was here...  
  
As I started my walk out of the woods into the city, I stepped over something that was too oddly shaped to be a rock. When the small dust cloud settled, I picked it up - A Pokedex. I flipped it open, and automatically, it said "Good morning, Rob Oak. Please enter your password to gain further access to your Pokedex."  
  
ROB OAK'S POKEDEX?!  
  
"Rob." I whispered. I looked around, half-expecting him to step out from behind a tree. What did this mean? Had he just dropped his Pokedex when he was on the bubble? Or had he been mugged when he was on the ground again and in the robbers' haste they'd dropped his Pokedex?  
  
Now I RAN to the Pokemon Center. SOMEONE must have seen him, either on the ground or up in the air on the bubble.  
  
I dove into the Center, where lunch was being served. I upset two people carrying trays of food, apologized profusely, then ran into the main room where Nurse Joy was standing behind her desk, chatting with an older Pokemon trainer. "Excuse (pant) me (pant) Nurse..."  
  
Nurse Joy looked over at me and gave me a quizzical look. "Are you all right?" She asked. "Is something wrong with your Pokemon?"  
  
I shook my head, and before my legs gave me an ounce of notification, I fell to the floor in exhaustion.  
  
"Oh my goodness!" Nurse Joy and the other trainer ran over to me.  
  
"A glass of water! Go!" Joy ordered, and the other trainer ran out of the room.  
  
"Hey Nurse Joy." a male voice said behind me. I tried to look around, but the room spun when I did that. I moaned and fell flat on my back. This is what I got for running all through town!  
  
The boy who's voice I'd only heard looked down at me. I looked up at the boy. My eyes saw an illusion, while my brain was trying to process that I knew who this was...  
  
"ROB!" I screamed and jumped up with re-newed energy. Rob backed away in fear. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"  
  
"Uh..." Rob cocked an eyebrow. "The last time I checked I was..."  
  
"Thank God you're all right! You're father's been worried since you haven't checked in -"  
  
"Um, excuse me, Miss, but who are you?" Rob relaxed only a bit.  
  
"Oh yeah, like you don't know. Our fathers' have only been mortal enemies since Day One, Rob." I grinned.  
  
"No, I'm serious, I have no idea...wait a second. Take your ponytail out."  
  
Mystified at Rob's behavior, I obliged and took the green scrunchie out of my hair." As soon as I did, Rob snapped his fingers.  
  
"I thought that was you. The girl on t.v. who saved the Ponyta's life. Areena Whats-her-name."  
  
"Arina Ketchum, and will you stop pretending like you don't know me, Rob? You're starting to worry me."  
  
"I'm sorry, I wish I was pretending, but I only have memories of the few last weeks I've been in Celadon."  
  
My eyes grew as big as saucers and Rob said, "Your face will freeze like that," which promptly made me return to reality.  
  
"Come with me." he continued. "I'm living at the Celadon Gym as a guest of Gym Leader Erica. Maybe we can fill in the gaps we both have."  
  
  
  
A sweet smell permeated the air as Rob and I entered the Gym. A Gym battle was taking place as we went into the arena and took a seat at the sideline benches. Erica, as Rob pointed her out to me, was battling a purple-haired girl about my age. Erica had a Gloom; the girl was using a Ninetales. The match ended fairly quickly as the Ninetales firespinned Gloom into unconsciousness. A bell went off, signaling the girl as the winner. She whooped in joy while Rob and I clapped. I got a glimpse of the Rainbow Badge, and I promised myself that as soon as this whole mess with Rob was straightened out, I would earn that badge as well. The girl headed over to the benches while Erica walked over to us.  
  
"Hi Rob...and Arina Ketchum?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
"Good Lord, you gave us all a good scare a few weeks back. We'd all thought Team Rocket...well, never mind. You're here to earn a Rainbow Badge."  
  
"One reason. The other is this." I pulled out Rob's Pokedex and it opened. Rob's picture popped up on screen and Dexter announced, "I'm Dexter, a Pokedex program created by Professor Gary Oak for trainer Rob Oak. Rob, please enter your password to access your Pokedex."  
  
There was silence for a full minute before Erica finally said, "I think we have some talking to do."  
  
  
  
  
  
It took me an hour to explain what exactly was going on, and that included the whole side story of me running away from home and what I did after getting out of Viridian Forest via the bubble. I did not mention anything about Rumer or her stealing Squirtle, and also skipping over my journey into Pinkton City, saying I'd only gotten lost and wound up in Celadon.  
  
"And that's that. Now maybe you and Rob can fill in blanks after Rob drifted away from me in Viridian Forest."  
  
But Rob shook his head. "The Blastoise's bubbles explain how I got here so quickly, but how I lost my memory is still a mystery. I woke up in the woods near the Gym and bumped into Erica when I went looking for help. Erica's let me stay here at the Gym until someone could tell me who I was and where my parents are."  
  
"Which brings us to today and now." Erica gently rested her chin on the top of her hands. "We need to call Rob's parents immediately and tell them we've found him. They've been worried sick, I'm sure."  
  
I looked away. "Rob's dad will be...his mother..."  
  
"Arina?" Erica asked gently. "What is it?"  
  
I couldn't bear to look at Rob as I dropped the news. "Mrs. Oak died when we were three years old. Car crash."  
  
There was silence for a minute as Erica and Rob considered this.  
  
"Ok." Erica sighed, slightly dismayed. "Well, now that we know who you are, I'll look up your home phone number in the League directory. Anyone who's anyone in the world of Pokemon is in there."  
  
So Erica found the number and dialed on the videophone next to her desk. I was a nervous wreck while deciding how to break the news. "Hi Professor, I found Rob, but he seems to have lost his memory and ended up in Celadon.'  
  
Professor Oak picked up the phone on the second ring.  
  
"Hello Professor Oak. This is Gym Leader Erica in Celadon City."  
  
"Hello, how can I help you?" He said a bit absently as he typed on a computer keyboard off-screen.  
  
"Actually Professor, I think we found something you've been missing."  
  
"Hm?" This time Professor Oak looked at the videophone as I pushed Rob on- screen. "ROB!Â  What are you doing in Celadon? Why haven't you called me? Have you won any badges yet?"  
  
Rob looked upset and looked to Erica for help. Erica butted in, coming to Rob's rescue. "Professor Oak, there have been some major developments since Rob left Pallet Town..." And so Erica outlined the basics of what had happened, including Rob losing his memory and my showing up and identifying him.  
  
The big question was then raised - what happened now?  
  
"Rob is welcome to stay here as long as he likes, but I'm sure you'd like to have him home." Erica said.Â   
  
Professor Oak nodded. "I would. I can drive over and be there in two days time."  
  
"No."  
  
We all looked at Rob, surprised at his interruption.  
  
"No offense, sir, but with my memory gone, I feel like I'm a complete stranger to you. I think if I went back home I'd feel very uncomfortable."  
  
"Nonsense, Rob. Once you get back into familiar surroundings -"  
  
"Again, no offense...Dad," Rob said awkwardly, "but I left home to train Pokemon.Â  Since I arrived at Celadon, that's what I've been doing, and I've found I'm pretty good at it, even if I wasn't at first. Even if I can't remember who I am, I still want to set out and finish my journey."  
  
I thought Professor Oak was going to throw a fit, but instead he just sat there for a minute, brooding silently. Finally, he said, "Fine, whatever. I can't stop you anyway. Just remember to check in once a month."Â  And with that, he dropped the connection, which startled us in Celadon.  
  
"Ouch." I murmured. He was really upset.  
  
"Oh dear." Erica sighed.Â  "Rob, are you sure this is what you want?"  
  
Rob nodded. "I don't have to become the best, but I can't leave something unfinished that I started."  
  
"And I can help you too, Rob." I added. "After all, I did get the best score on the trainer's exam."  
  
"You did?" Rob was slightly taken aback.  
  
"Yup, beat you by six points."  
  
"Scores on paper tests don't mean a thing." Rob sniffed. "The real challenge is facing off in battle."  
  
"Is that an invitation to battle?"  
  
"No, it's an invitation to watch your butt get kicked by me!"  
  
"Why you -" I seethed. "You men are all alike! How do women put up with you?" I shouted.  
  
"Easy. We marry 'em and and then break them." Erica answered, stepping between the two of us before I could chew out Rob some more. "I have a proposition for you two. If you want to battle each other, whoever wins the battle gets the Rainbow Badge."  
  
  
  
  
  
Nothing would have stopped us from attending this battle. As Rob and I faced off, Erica and the girl she'd battled earlier watched from the bleachers.  
  
"You're toast, Oak. Your Pokemon can't possibly have enough experience to beat me!"  
  
"Don't be so sure!" Erica called. "He *has* been training."  
  
"Hmph." I looked away from Erica and began concentrating on a strategy for battle. As far as I knew, he had his starter Pokemon, Charmander, and Kakuna from our trade, and at the pond in Viridian he'd used Rattata and he'd mentioned a Sandshrew...But if he'd been training, his Pokemon might have evolved...  
  
"Ready Arina?"  
  
I nodded. No way I could lose this one! I'd never live it down at home if I lost to an *Oak*.  
  
Erica stood up and announced, "This is an official Gym match! Only three Pokemon are allowed to each challenger. The winner will be determined when one of the challengers has fainted at least two of their opponents' Pokemon. There is no time limit! Let the match begin!"  
  
"Go Sandshrew!"  
  
"Bulbasaur, you're on!"  
  
"Sandshrew, Slash Bulbasaur!"  
  
"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!"  
  
Ground was no match for Grass-Type, no matter how much experience Sandshrew had gotten, because in 3 minutes, it was fainted.  
  
Rob pulled out his second Pokemon, Charmeleon, which ended up besting Bulbasaur using Firespin. I recalled Bulbasaur and pulled out Rattata, hoping Rattata had some more experience than I thought.  
  
No such luck. Rattata tried his best for me, but Rob's Charmeleon toasted Rattata in under a minute.  
  
So we both switched Pokemon, I to Spearow, Rob to Beedrill.  
  
Minutes later, Rob and I both stared at both our fainted Pokemon. I couldn't believe it, we'd just lost to each other!  
  
Erica and the girl both clapped. "Very well done, both of you," the girl said.  
  
"Tiebreaker?" Rob was already reaching for his belt.  
  
"You're on!" I cried.  
  
"That won't be necessary." Erica interrupted us. "You've both shown great skill today handling your Pokemon, which, in my eyes, deserves the honor of the Rainbow Badge."  
  
"YES!" I whooped and threw a fist in the air.  
  
"Come to my office with me." Erica called as she walked off.  
  
"Wow, you guys are really lucky," the girl at the bleachers cried. "A lot of Gym Leaders aren't half as nice as Mistress Erica."  
  
"Thanks for the warning. What's your name?" I asked.  
  
"I'm Angel Firestorm. And you're Arina Ketchum, the Pokemon Master's daughter, who lives right across the street from me before I left home on my Pokemon Journey."  
  
"I thought I recognized you. You just moved to Pallet, right?"  
  
Angel nodded. "C'mon, let's get your badge and then grab a bite to eat and we can talk some more."  
  
"Sounds good." I agreed and walked to Erica's office with Angel. Rob lagged behind silently.  
  
"I'm proud to present you both with the Rainbow Badge." Erica said when we arrived in her office. "Congratulations! I think this calls for a well- deserved candy bowl raid," she continued and picked up the glass dish on her desk. As she held it out to each of us, her elbow lightly grazed the top of a silver picture frame on her desk, knocking it over.  
  
"I'll get it." Angel offered and gazed at the photo in the frame when she picked it up. "Wow, who's this, Erica? She's beautiful!"  
  
"Hm?" Erica glanced at the picture and her face fell. "Oh, that's my younger sister. She disappeared a long time ago when she was on her Pokemon journey. My family never saw her again."  
  
"I'm sorry." Angel was about to put the frame down when I took it from her. "Hey!" I cried. I know her!" I couldn't possibly be mistaken. "This is Rumer, the girl that stole my Squirtle!"  
  
"Huh?" Erica was taking aback, now looking at me wide-eyed.  
  
Rob nudged me. "Not funny."  
  
"I'm not lying! She's a lot older now, but I'm positive it's her!"  
  
"Arina?" Erica whispered. "Please tell me you're not kidding."  
  
I shook my head violently. "I swear I'm not. I saw her just last week at Mt. Moon!"  
  
Erica shakily sat down. I explained the story of what had happened at Mt. Moon.  
  
"If you can loan me a flying Pokemon, like Pidgeot or Spearow, I'll go to Mt. Moon right now and bring her back here." I should have thought before I spoke. How was I going to persuade a woman who hated my guts for being a trainer to come to Celadon with and talk to her sister, a Gym Leader? Unless knocking her out was an option, it was going to be very difficult.  
  
"I'm coming with you." Erica announced.  
  
I shook my head. "That's not a good idea. The minute she sees you, she'll turn tail and run. She's not the same sister she was when she was ten."  
  
At Erica's curious glance, I added, "It's a long story. I'll let her explain when she gets here."  
  
"But how are you going to get her here? She hates anything to do with trainers, right?" Angel asked.  
  
I nodded. "I think I have an idea, and I'll put it into action when I get there."  
  
"We'll use my Fearow to get there." Rob announced.  
  
"What's this 'we' stuff, Oak?"  
  
"It's MY Fearow, therefore I'm going!"  
  
I "hmphed" and crossed my arms over my chest. "*Fine*, let's go!" I muttered.  
  
"Let's go before you two kill each other." Angel started shoving me toward the door. "Don't worry about a thing, Erica, we'll be back in no time with your sister in no time!"  
  
Angel used her Pidgeot and Rob and I traveled with his Fearow to Mt. Moon. Erica watched us with pleading eyes, and we waved back to her, hoping to raise her confidence that we would succeed.  
  
"So what's your big plan?" Rob asked as we headed skyward.  
  
I answered, hoping I sounded more confident in the plan than I felt. "We're going to doing a little lying to get Ms. High-and-Mighty out of Mt. Moon and back to Celadon. Here's what I'm going to say..."  
  
End ChapterÂ  2 


	3. Chapter 3

Truth and Rumers

Chapter 3

It didn't take us long to reach Mt. Moon by air, arriving within an hour after leaving Celadon City. We landed and searched the area for a little bit.

Finally, annoyed that Rumer hadn't jumped out of a tree and convinced us all that we were bad people, I yelled, "You can come out now, Rumer, we have enslaved Pokemon here that need freeing!"

"What are you doing?" Rob hissed as he elbowed me.

"Getting Rumer's attention, duh!" I rolled my eyes at him in return.

But Rumer didn't come, which surprised me. A few minutes later, Angel offered to get an aerial view of Mt. Moon, and see if she could spot the girl she'd seen in the photo.

As Angel took to the sky with her Pidgeot, a soft voice hissed behind Rob and me,

"Ekans..." Rob and I turned around to see an Ekans and Clefairy standing

there.

"Ekans Ekans Ekans?" (Master, why did you leave us behind?)

"They're yours?" Rob queried.

I nodded, as I realized that these were the same two Pokemon I'd left behind when Rumer had angered me a week ago. "Long story." I answered him over my shoulder, as I walked to the Ekans and Clefairy. To the Pokemon, I said, "I know I left you behind, and I'm sorry. I was upset that day, but now I can take you with me. Will you come?"

"Clefairy!" Clefairy jumped into my arms. Ekans hissed in approval as well.

"Great!" I cried, "let me get out two Pokeballs..."

Angel landed beside us as Ekans and Clefairy's Pokeballs disappeared, on their way to Professor Oak's.

"No sign of Rumer, Arina. I even asked a few trainers who were about to go in to Mt. Moon if they'd seen her."

I sighed sadly. "Erica will be so disappointed and she'll think I've lied about the entire thing."

"Hey, Arina, if she thought you were making this all up, she wouldn't have let you go without her. Besides, you're the Pokemon Master's daughter - your word's like gold!"

I didn't answer. Again, my father's reputation was being put on the line to save my hide.

"Let's go back to Celadon and tell Erica how badly Ketchum failed."

"Rob!" Angel admonished and smacked the back of his head.

I justifiably got as angry at Rob's flippant comment, "If you think that highly of me, Oak, then why did you bother tagging along with us?"

That shut Rob up long enough for me to get on Pidgeot's back. "Let's head back," I said. "it's getting late."

* * * *

Back in Celadon, I begged for Erica's forgiveness; that'd we searched for her younger sister, and she'd just seemed to vanish.

"Arina, please." Erica held up her hand to silence my babbling. As she sat in her chair behind her desk, she drew in a deep breath before continuing, "I should have said something sooner." She motioned all of us to sit down. "When Rumer disappeared, there were leads of all sorts coming in from around the world. My family followed every single one of them, but Rumer was never found."

"But Erica, I swear I saw her!"

"Arina, I realize there is a possibility that Rumer is still alive somewhere, but the odds of her just appearing out of nowhere after all this time aren't that great."

"Erica, why won't you believe me?" I cried. "I know what I saw! If my parents had given up the search for me, I'd still be in Team Rocket's hands today!"

"Arina," tears were brimming in Erica's eyes, "I think you'd better go now."

I was startled by Erica's crying. "Erica, I didn't mean to upset you..."

"Just go, please. You got what you came for."

Feeling miserable, I left the office with Angel.

"Don't feel bad, Arina. It's not your fault Rumer wasn't at Mt. Moon."

"I know it's not, but I still feel awful for upsetting Erica, even if it was the truth."

Rob then came out of the office, looking angry. "Let's go." he muttered, storming out to the arena.

"We'll let you get your stuff together, Rob, and meet you at the Pokemon Center in a half-hour." Angel said gently.

Rob nodded mutely and turned back toward the living quarters in the Gym.

Forty-five minutes passed before Rob met us in stoney silence at the Pokemon Center. We had silently accepted that Angel was now going to join us on our journey. We proceeded out of Celadon City in a grim procession, me feeling sad, Rob, angry, and Angel just upset that her two new companions weren't getting along.

I was deep in thought. "What if" scenarios kept going through my mind, before I tuned into the real world again. I found I was leading the three of us, Angel and Rob had dropped behind me to quietly argue.

"Please Rob, she only thought she was helping Erica, not hurt her!"

"But the fact is that she did hurt Erica!"

"You don't have to be so mean to her though. It's *not* her fault Rumer -"

"Hey Angel," I turned around. "The Ketchums and the Oaks have been enemies for years. Rob's just sore because we tied winning the Celadon Badge."

"That's *not* the reason!" Rob grumbled. "That whole story was made up about Rumer, wasn't it?"

"You're calling me a liar, Oak? I know it was her, and she is real. She stole my Squirtle and set it free. The only reason I have it now was because it followed me all the way here! And why are you so upset over Erica's problems anyway? It's not like she's family or anything."

And then it struck me, as Rob's expression instantly changed from anger to glum despair and near panic.

"So that's it!" I crowed triumphantly. "You thought if no one ever recognized you or came looking for you, Erica would adopt you?"

Angel put her fist in her mouth to stop a giggle at my announcement, and her eyes darted to Rob and then me. Rob nudged past me so hard I fell down, running on the path ahead of us.

"Idiot!" I yelled at him. "Quit running! I'm supposed to be looking after you!"

"C'mon, he may need our help if he runs into wild Pokemon."

"Like what? The only thing around here are Caterpies and maybe some other small

Pokemon."

"And the occasional wild Charizard." a pang of fear was evident in my fifteen-year-old companion's voice now.

I snorted in disgust, and at the same time, a roar sounded through the sky and we both stiffened.

"W-What what what was that?" Angel bit her lip.

"Uh, maybe just a Caterpie burping?"

Angel shook her head, terror written all over her face now. "I don't think so!"

We heard the roar again and this time the ground shook.

That was it! "WILD CHARIZARD!" we both screamed and took off in the general direction we'd last seen Rob go, screaming our fool heads off as we went.

* * * *

We did finally catch up to Rob, but not before dusk. Rob had made camp, and without a word, Angel and I joined him. We ate dinner in complete silence and when Rob was finished, he said, "I'm going home tomorrow."

"Rob, wait, if this is about what I said earlier, I'm sor-" but Rob cut me off.

"It's ok, Arina, really. You were right and so was my dad. Anyway, I can't go around forever having amnesia. The past is as important as the future."

"That's a beautiful philosophy." Angel commented.

Rob merely shrugged as he unzippered his sleeping bag.

"You don't even know which way Pallet Town is!" I interjected.

"Erica gave me a map and a compass weeks ago, in case I got the urge to go out looking for Pokemon and got lost."

"But Rob -" This time it was Angel who cut me off by touching my arm, and when I looked at her, she shook her head, meaning there was no more use in arguing. Despondant, I, too, started to get ready for bed.

Angel and I mapped out our route for tomorrow, then turned in for the night. But I couldn't sleep, as much as I tried. Apparently, neither could Rob, because he constantly tossed and turned. Finally, just to see if he was actually awake, I whispered, "Rob?"

"What?" came the dull, flat answer.

Silence for a moment, as I phrased the next words in my head, coming up with nothing better than, "I'm sorry."

"I said you didn't have to be."

"I think it needed to be said anyway."

Silence lapsed again.

"Ketchum?"

"Yeah?"

"Before...when I had my memories - were we friends?"

"Sort of. Our fathers were rivals when they were on their journies, but my dad still thinks your family is Enemy #1. Our moms didn't think that way and we used to play together when we were little. That all changed when -"

"My mom died."

Silence was my only confirmation.

"What was she like?" and I knew he meant his mother.

"I liked her. She always had cookies from the oven for us when we came to play. The house always smelled wonderful, like potpourri, or vanilla. And I think she and your dad loved each other and you very much."

Again, a moment of silence.

"Thank you, Arina. Night."

* * * *

Rob was gone by the time I awoke the next morning. Angel was poking at the fire and eating her tin can breakfast. "Morning, Sleepy-head."

I mumbled something unintellible as I crawled out of my sleeping bag.

"We're not a morning person, are we? I'll fix that!" Angel cried and shoved another tin can under my nose. I caught a whiff and shrank back.

"What IS that stuff?" I yelped.

"Pickled Tofu."

"Eww!"

"Oh, it's great! And they come in such convenient cans for traveling."

"I'll pass, thanks." I groaned as I sat up.

Angel shrugged and flipped some of her purple hair back over her shoulder.

"Suit yourself."

At least it had woken me up. I sat up and looked around at our camp. "Did Rob leave?"

"Yeah, even before I got up." Angel stoked the fire a bit.

"Poor Rob. I bet he never went to sleep."

"Poor Rob?" Angel echoed in disbelief. "Here you're supposed to be rivals and you're worrying over him!"

"I feel sorry for him though."

"Yes, so do I." Angel admitted guiltily.

"And this thing about being rivals is so stupid. I mean, about 100 other kids in Pallet Town are out training too - why is Rob the only one who's emphasized as *my* personal rival?"

"Good point."

"But I guess he's not now that he's heading home."

"Well, before you can lapse into a dark brooding mode of silence over your boyfriend, would you please eat something so we can get moving?"

I furrowed my brow and grabbed the tin can from Angel's hand and gave her five reasons WHY Rob Oak was not and would never be my boyfriend. Angel only smiled as she packed up her bedroll.

* * * *

It was going to be at least a two day trek to Saffron City. Angel and I saw lots of Pokemon, but catching them was a different story. Angel managed to capture an Oddish and I almost got a Bellsprout. But by midday our luck changed and we caught three more Pokemon each.

"Not bad." Angel commented as my third Pokeball disappeared from my hand. "That's four for me, and three for you. Let's see if we can't make it five for each of us before -"

A roar, not unlike the one from yesterday, interrupted Angel.

"Was that - was that what I think it was?" I asked as we backed up against each other.

"I don't know. It could have just been -"

The roar interrupted Angel again and both of us screamed as the Earth began to shake.

"Where is it?! Where is it?!" Angel cried in fright.

"Who cares? Let's just get out of here!"

And then "It" appeared behind us, and soared over us and lept down with a mighty thud, knocking us both to the ground.

"A rhyhorn?!" Angel looked like she was going to faint.

But what was standing on the Rhyhorn's back interested me more. "Rob?!"

"Hurry! These ropes won't hold him much longer. Get out your Grass and Water Pokemon!"

"Kaeri! Bulbasaur! I choose you!" I yelled, and Squirtle and Bulbasaur popped out of their Pokeballs.

"Leafie! Vaporeon!" Angel called weakly. Instantly, a Ivysaur and a Vaporeon appeared by Angel's side.

"Squirtle, watergun! Bulbasaur, vinewhip attack!"

"Leafie! Razorleaf!" Angel said as she stood up again. "Vaporeon, Blizzard!"

We soon had the Ryhorn weak enough for Rob to throw an empty Pokeball and capture it. When the drama had passed, I fell to my knees, weak from the tension.

"It's nice to see you two again." Rob said cheerfully as he walked up to us.

"Rob, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on your way back to Pallet!" Angel cried.

"Oh that. I figured I was having too much fun taunting Ketchum here, so I decided to re-join you. Besides, if my father found out I'd abandoned two girls in the wilderness, I'm sure he wouldn't be very pleased. Plus I want to earn badges to kick Ketchum's butt at the League Games."

"Oh, I see." Angel nodded solemly and crossed her arms in front of her. "Rob

and Arina sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Both Rob eyes and mine went wide. "Angel!"

"See you in Saffron City, you two crazy lovebirds!" Angel started at a run. "First comes love, second comes marriage..." she sang as she raced off.

"Get back here!" Rob shouted and ran after Angel. "There's no way I'd even get close enough to Ketchum to get her cooties!"

"I do not have cooties!" I shouted and began to run after him.

Narrator: (laughs) And so our heroes are off once again, racing against each other to compete in the Pokemon League Games. What adventures will they have and what Pokemon will they see? Both these questions answered in the next book of "Arina's Pokemon Journey"!

The End.


End file.
